Five Becomes Six
by Luftim1
Summary: Sequel to How we all met your mother. The story mainly focuses on Ted and the Mother and spans from May 2013 to May 2014 (not necessarily linear). Do recommend you read my first story first as it sets up the events of this one.
1. Chapter 1

**Hi, sorry it took so long, but here is the sequel. This is just a prologue to start things off, so don't expect many more chapters to be this short.**

"Ted"  
"Ted, wake up"  
Ted opened his eyes, he blinked adjusting to the light. He looked up, Marshall was standing over him. Barney was over to the side mourning his ripped suit .  
"He's awake." Marshall declared  
"Finally." Barney said.  
"What's going on?" Ted asked, tiredness seeping out of his voice.  
"Ted, look around." Marshall said.  
He got up, they were in his apartment, his empty apartment that was being put up for sale, he checked the time on his phone. 12:34, May 26th 2014. 'May 26th' he thought. Then it hit him, he realised where he was supposed to be. If alcohol took a away his memory, this brought it racing back.  
He rechecked his phone, 12 missed calls from Lily and 9 from Robin. None from Tracey obviously, he looked at the wallpaper on his phone, it was a picture from New Year's Eve, of the six of them, a happy night came to his mind, March 21st, the shouting, the screaming, the crying.  
"TED!" Barney snapped him away from his thoughts  
"Let's go!"  
"Yeah." He replied quietly, trying to ward off the tears.  
As he left that apartment, one thing stuck in his mind. She would never be his girlfriend again.


	2. Chapter 2

27th of May 2013

DING DING DING DING  
Ted opened his eyes.  
DING DING DING DING  
That goddamn alarm.  
Ted reached over and turned his alarm off. His head hurt, his legs hurt and his back especially hurt from sleeping on the floor. Recently he'd changed his mind about moving to Chicago, so when he got home there wasn't a stick of furniture left.'But never again' he thought 'I Ted Mosby will never sleep on the floor ever again'.  
He realised moving to Chicago was a huge mistake and due to the events of the previous weekend, he had no reasons anymore. Lily and Marshall were staying in New York, he was over Robin and last night he met someone. They had only just talked for a short while, but he really felt a connection, it felt like destiny. He knew he'd said that about other girls, but this felt different.  
He got up and reached for his phone. He scrolled through his contact until he reached her name.  
"Hi Tracey." He said when she picked up. "It's Ted."

'It's Ted' she thought. 'That guy from last night.' She was really hoping he'd call, she couldn't stop thinking about him.  
"Tracey, you there?" He asked nervously.  
"Yeah I'm here." She replied.  
"I was just wondering-um-well-if you might want to-um."  
"I'd love to Ted." She said, cutting him off.  
"But I-"  
"Yeah, I'm sorry you were just taking forever." She said laughing.  
He laughed, he didn't feel so nervous anymore.  
"So are you free today?"  
"Yeah, I've got no plans all day."  
"Great, so do you know any place nice?"  
"Ted, I really don't feel like going someplace fancy, I don't think I could wear heels for another year after last night."  
He realised he didn't really want to go someplace expensive either. He thought for a second and could only think of one solution.  
"Well there's this bar I know..."

Later at Maclarens  
Marshall, Lily, Robin and Barney were all sitting in their regular booth. They were having one last drink before Barney and Robin left for their honeymoon. Lily was suffering from a huge hangover, after she won the bet between her and Marshall, she celebrated, a lot.  
"So has anyone heard from Ted?" Robin asked.  
"No loud noises." Lily said, with her head lying on the table.  
"No." Marshall replied. "It's strange, I thought he would have called us when he arrived."  
"Hey, guys is that-" Barney said looking at the door.  
"Tracey!" Marshall yelped.  
"No loud noises." Lily said, not moving.  
Tracey looked over towards the gang, hearing her name.  
"Hey guys." Tracey said, walking over. "What are you all doing here."  
"Yeah we come here every now and again." Marshall lied.  
"I'm actually meeting someone here, for a date."  
"TED?" Barney asked, hopefully  
"Noises, no loud noises."  
Tracey looked over at Lily.  
"Is that Lily?"  
"Yeah." Robin replied. "Just give her a while."  
"Actually, yeah, I am meeting Ted here, for a date." Tracey said getting back on track.  
That caught Lily's attention.  
"Teds not in Chicago?" She asked, jolting upright.  
"Chicago?" Tracey asked, confused.  
"Hey guys." Ted said, having just arrived. "I see you've met Tracey."


	3. Chapter 3

Ted pulled over a chair. Tracey was confused about the mention of Chicago and the rest were confused about why he wasn't in Chicago.

"Hi Ted." Tracey greeted, with a large smile. "I was just catching up with your friends ." She paused. "Now  
what's this I hear about Chicago?"

Ted looked at each of his friends, he really didn't want to talk about this now.

"Ted was going to go on a trip to Chicago." Barney said. "Must've got cancelled."

"Yeah." Ted said. "Mix up with the fights and accommodation stuff ."

Tracey looked at Ted suspiciously, that was a lie if she'd ever heard one. She decided to drop it, she'd ask him some other time.

Ted looked over at his friends, motioning for them to leave.

"Well, me and Barney have to go pack, for our honeymoon." Robin said. "Right Barney?"

"I'm good here." He replied. She nudged him. "I mean, yeah sure." He said as they both left.

"And we have to unpack." Marshall said, grabbing a seriously hungover Lily.

"Sorry about them." Ted said, as they moved further into the booth.

"No it's fine." She replied. "I actually met them at the wedding."

Ted looked surprised. "Really? All of them?" She nodded. "They didn't say anything about me did they?"

Tracey thought back to Marshall and Lily's argument in the grooms suite the previous day.  
"Marshall may have tried to set me up with you." She said, laughing.

He started laughing too. Now that phonecall he got from Marshall in the early hours of the morning made sense.

"So, where are you from?" He asked.

"New Jersey, and you?"

"Ohio- wait did you say New Jersey?" He said.

"Yeah, why? Are you one of those people who live in New York so they think they have to hate everything about New Jersey?"

"Umm."

She began laughing. "You know, New Jersey isn't that bad, have you even been there before?"

"Yeah." He said. "I used to date a girl who lived there."

"Oh, and."

"It wasn't that bad, I was all set to move there until.."

"Until what?"

"She left me at the alter."

Her expression changed. "I'm so sorry."

"It's fine, it was a long time ago, but funny story, have you ever seen the Wedding Bride?"

A few hours later.  
"Well this was fun." Tracey said, beginning to stand up.

"Yeah." Ted replied. "Seeing as bar is a terrible place for a first date, I'm gonna give you the best second date ever, I'm gonna go all out."

"So your saying there will be a second date." She said.

She began to walk away. He then realised he'd made a mistake like this before, eight years ago.  
"Wait." He shouted after her. She turned around and he kissed her.

"That should keep me going." She said, smiling and she walked out of the bar.

He couldn't help himself from having a huge grin on his face as he watched her leave. He had a good feeling about this girl.


	4. Chapter 4

1st of June 2013

Ted sat waiting, Tracey was to arrive any second. He made reservations at one of the most expensive restaurants in the city, so expensive he had taken Barney's advice and suited up. He and Robin made it pretty clear that they expected Ted and Tracey to still be together when they got back from their honeymoon. Marshall and Lily were the same, since he had been staying with them until his furniture arrived back from Chicago, they took every chance to drop her name, he had bacon for breakfast one day that spelled T+T.

"Hey Ted." He heard a voice say.  
He looked up and smiled, it was her. She looked beautiful, dressed in a long red dress, with her hair down perfectly framing her face, everything about her was perfect.

"Hi, you look beautiful." He said, slightly slurring his words.

"Thanks." She said, not seeming very happy. He then noticed her face, it was as if she had been crying.

"Are you okay?" He asked.

"Yeah, it's just."

"Just what?"

"I ran into my ex-boyfriend, Louis."

He remembered her talking about him, they had broken up the week before, the day before the wedding weekend.

"Are you okay? What happened?"

"It's nothing." He gave her a look.

"Honestly." She said, reassuring him. "He's a jerk, I don't care what he thinks."

Ted wasn't sure that everything was right with her, he continued to persist but she didn't want to talk about it. He decided to drop it, for now.

A few hours later.  
They walked into her apartment, why was this familiar? Oh yeah, he thought, he was here with Cindy years ago.

"You want a beer?" She asked.

"Yeah sure." He replied.

As she went into the kitchen Ted looked around. The yellow bus, the bass guitar. He couldn't believe he was in this same apartment all those years ago with the wrong woman. In fact a lesbian woman, he thought chuckling to himself.  
He looked down at the coffee table, there was an address book on it, an address book that would surely have that asshole Louis' address. He wasn't thinking about going there was he? He looked into the kitchen, she was busy doing something. He picked up the book and quickly took a picture of the address on his phone. He could hear footsteps, she was coming. He quickly dropped it back on the table.

"Not the best beer I'll admit." She said carrying to bottles. "But hey, I'm living on a bass players salary with student fees."

"Actually I think I might call it a night." He said

"It's 10:30." She said, looking at her watch.

"I was up early this morning." He said, trying to fake a yawn. "I'll call you." And he went out the door.

'What the hell was that about' she thought, putting the beers down. Did she do something wrong? She then noticed her address book, open on the coffee table, on Louis' address. Oh no

Ted finally reached the door. The door of the man who dated Tracey and treated her like crap, the man who made her cry earlier today. He knocked on the door, still not sure what he would do once it opened. A tall strong man opened the door. Ted gulped, Tracey never mentioned any of that.

"Who are you?" He asked.

"Ted. Ted Mosby and you made a huge mistake."

Tracey ran up the stairs finally nearing the apartment, she turned a corner and saw a sight she would remember for the rest of her life. Right in front of Louis' apartment was Ted propped up against a wall with a black eye

He looked up."You never said he had a home gym."

She walked over to him and sat down next to him.

"I told you to drop it." She said.

"I know." He replied. "But I just couldn't stand that he would treat you like that."

She examined his black eye. "Ted, you didn't need to do this for me. I'm done with him, you're my boyfriend now."

He smiled. "We never discussed if we were on boyfriend/girlfriend yet."

"Well, if it's okay with you I'd like to be."

"Me too."

They stood up and kissed.

"Now come on." She said. "How about that beer."


	5. Chapter 5

2nd of June 2013

"When are you going to tell her about Chicago?"

Ted looked up from the box he was cutting open. His stuff had just arrived back and he had asked Marshall to help him move back into his apartment. This question had caught him off guard, even though he knew it was coming at some point.

"Ted?"

"It's a little complicated." He replied.

"How?" Marshall asked. "I seems to me that you're ruining what could be your one shot at happiness."

"Marshall." Ted said, raising his voice. "How do you suppose I say it? Hey Tracey, you know Robin? One of my best friends? Yeah well I've been on and off in love with her for eight years and up until a week ago, I was willing to move to Chicago to escape these feelings. But it's okay you don't need to feel awkward around Robin or worried that these feelings might come back."

Ted sat down, deflated. Marshall looked down at his friend in sympathy, he has a point.

"I just don't want to scare her off." Ted said, quietly. "I've told her about how me and Robin used to date, I told her about Stella. I've told her pretty much everything else. But not this, it will have to wait. If I tell her now I could be ruining me one shot at happiness."

Meanwhile at the bar.  
Lily sat waiting at the booth, she had invited Tracey to join her at the bar , she wanted to get to know her better , seeing as their encounters were limited to a booze filled night and adventures in groom hunting. Tracey finally appeared at the doorway.

"Hey Tracey." Lily said, smiling as Tracey sat down.

"Hey." She replied, she had something on her mind and it had been bugging her all week, she may as well get it over with now. "Lily there's something I need to ask you."

"Sure." Lily said. "Go ahead."

"Remember on Monday how Chicago was brought up and everyone tried their hardest to change the subject?"

"What are you talking about?"

"Lily, cut the crap. I know when someone's lying and I could tell that the five of you were lying. Except Barney, he must have experience."

Lily thought about averting the conversation, but realised it would do no good.

"Tracey." She began. "This is Teds business not mine. If he chooses not to talk about it, then that's between you and him, I don't want to get in the middle. But I'll tell you this, that was a part of Teds life that he will most likely not want to share for some time."

Tracey nodded as Lily spoke, she understood that she would have to wait a while before she would hear the full story.


End file.
